


Spoken in the Moonlight

by TheaterGeekBoi



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean Winchester Bears the Mark of Cain, Mark of Cain (Supernatural), season 9 episode 18 Meta Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:14:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29935323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheaterGeekBoi/pseuds/TheaterGeekBoi
Summary: What if Dean hadn't left at the end of 9x18 (Meta Fiction)? What if Sam returned to the Bunker alone? What if Dean stood with Cas after the angel found out about the Mark. a.k.a. Dean stays, but can't fall asleep because of the Mark. Cas talks to him.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Spoken in the Moonlight

_"What have you done?"_ The words echo in Dean's mind as he lies awake on the motel room bed. _"It's a means to an end."_ Concern and frustration etches itself on the angel's face. _"Damn it, Dean."_ The growl in the phrase stays with him. He knows it might've been a mistake, but it was his sacrifice to make. He had to make it. It's his job. 

A knock at the door interrupts his thoughts. He looks at the clock. 12:42pm. He's been thinking for a while. The knock rushes him off the bed. Dean is greeted with the relieving sight of Cas when he opens the door. "Hey, Cas."

Cas moves inside the door without permission. He's welcomed. Because he's Cas. "Hello, Dean." Two words. Yet, they mean more than Dean can express through words. It means Cas is safe. It means he's alive. The angel settles to stand beside the round motel table.

"What's up, Cas?" Dean grumbles, closing the door and sitting on the edge of his bed uneasily. _"What have you done?"_ The hunter prefers not to discuss what the angel found out about earlier. Not that he needs Cas' permission to make decisions like these. But it'd be nice to have the support of his . . . best friend. Yeah. His best friend.

" **Dean**." Dean's eyes snap up to meet a concerned stare. He quickly glances away and back to Cas.

"Yeah?"

Castiel's eyes soften. "I said I can hear you thinking from my room." Dean stays silent unsure how to respond. Yeah, he was thinking. How could he not after today's events? After the Mark? "Are you okay?"

Dean paints a smirk on his face, getting up to pat Cas' shoulder. **No.** "Course. 'M fine, Cas." Dean turns to go back to the bed before Cas grabs his wrist for the second time that night. Except this time Cas didn't need to lift up the sleeve to get through Dean's lies. Dean's eyes are glued to Cas' piercing gaze.

"No, you're not." Cas always knows what to say. He could always see past the mask and past the lies. He always calls Dean out on his bullshit. He cares enough to not ignore it most times. Not that Sam didn't care. It was just easier to talk to the angel than his little brother. He had to be strong for Sammy, but Cas. Well, Cas made him feel--finally Dean sighs and Cas loosens his grip on Dean enough to let him slide on the bed again.

Dean shifts on the right side a bit until, "I'm jus' tired is all." He glances from the pillow to the Mark to the pillow again.

"Why can't you sleep?" The growl from earlier disappears, but his voice still bore its usual deep roughness despite the concerned tone.

The hunter covers his eyes for a moment and drags his hand down the rest of his face. Besides his breathing, no other sound breaks the aching silence. The moonlight shines on Cas' face and dances on Dean's fingertips. It reminds him of the early days when Dean began to learn about Cas. He remembers how he woke up startled from a nightmare about hell and how Cas sat on the other side with the moonlight raining down on him that night too. He had asked what he was dreaming about then. Now he's asking him what dreams were keeping him from resting. A lot has changed since then. Dean places his back on the headboard and sighs again. "I don't know." Cas tilts his head, but doesn't probe any deeper.

Cas moves to the left side of the bed and sits with his back on the headboard next to Dean. He peers at Dean while Dean looks anywhere but at him. Dean noticed the wrinkles in the blanket and the papers Castiel had shuffled when he wasn't looking. He looks at the clock again. 1:05pm. Finally, he returns Cas' stare. Dean slowly deflated. He opens his mouth and hesitates to ask his next question. "You can lean on me if you feel comfortable." Red rushes to Dean's cheeks as words of defense and "cut the chick flick moment" makes it to his throat before jamming in his mouth. Cas looks open as though he's ready and okay with anything Dean has to say. That's what Dean loves about him--I mean not loves. Maybe strongly likes. Love is a strong word. Dean strongly likes that Cas never managed to look disgusted and judgmental of what he had to say. Cas always understood even if he didn't _really_ understand. _"What have you done?"_ A flicker of several emotions flashes across Dean's eyes: regret, guilt, sorrow, rage. The last probably being the Mark's effect. Cas waits for Dean.

"Are you okay with me leaning on you?" Cas smiles softly and nods. He shifts further down the bed so Dean can properly lay down on him. Dean takes a minute and gently applies his weight onto Cas with his head nestled on Cas' shoulder. Castiel stares at the ceiling while Dean curls around the angel. It feels vulnerable for the hunter, but it gives him more peace than he's received in months. Hell, maybe even years.

A half hour had to have passed before Dean opens his mouth again. "It's the nightmares." His a--the angel waits for him to talk again. "I keep dreaming over everyone I've killed. . . . and everyone I want to kill. Except it's not me. It's the Mark. It's begun to throb. I know its there without even thinking of it. In the back of my head, I know and I can't stop thinking about it. Every time I close my eyes I can see myself. Murdering Crowley, Sammy, you . . ." Emotion lodges itself in Dean's throat. He pushes back against the tears in his eyes as red fills his thoughts and the desire to spill blood pours in his mind. A hand grips tightly the Mark, blocking his other hand from scratching at it. He hadn't even realized what he was doing. He angles his view up to greet furrowed eyebrows and a concerned face. He blinks sharply a few times, looking down in slight shame.

"Dean." It's the first time Castiel spoke up in a while. The angel seemed so content to listening to the hunter. Dean could never understand why that was. Castiel's eyes looks like sparkling diamonds in the moonlight. Dean's eyes slips to his lips. " **Dean.** Look at me." Their eyes met once more, "We'll get through this. You, me, and Sam. We're here." 

"How?" Silence hung in the air. Hopelessness lingers on that question.

Cas' eyes hardens into determination and his voice deepened as he responds, "I don't know. I don't know if we'll have to kill Metatron to get the answers or hope for a miracle, but we will. We'll find a way, Dean. I promise." Dean pauses, taking his words in.

Suddenly, Dean's arms traps Cas into a hug. Cas' eyes widen in shock, but his body became lax when he relaxed and returned the hug. "Thanks, Cas." Dean whispers.

"Of course, Dean." Minutes pass and Dean's breathing slows until light snoring leaves his mouth. Castiel smiles at the relaxed features on the man's face and whispers, "I love you, Dean Winchester." Dean smiles in his sleep and the angel continues to count the freckles on the Righteous Man's face in the moonlight.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday Jenny!!!!! This was made for @HarkmarkDestiel's birthday :) happy wishes bestie


End file.
